The Clinical Research Unit is critical to the conduct of clinical cancer research within the Cancer Center. This Shared Resource is a centralized administrative unit that provides data management coordination, protocol coordination and centralized regulatory affairs, oncology research nurse coordination, investigational drug services and protocol management for clinical trials conducted by Cancer Center members. The Clinical Research Unit supports peer-review funded clinical research projects, cooperative clinical trials and protocols reviewed and approved by the Cancer Center's Clinical Trials Scientific Review and Monitoring Committee. By providing the necessary infrastructure for the transfer of preclinical discoveries into the clinical arena, this Shared Resource is critical to the Cancer Center's effort to stimulate translational research and to support high quality clinical trials. The availability of highly skilled data management staff, regulatory affairs expertise, oncology research nurses and pharmacists experienced in clinical trial initiation, conduct and monitoring encourages Cancer Center members to develop and conduct clinical trials involving novel agents and innovative treatment approaches. The Clinical Research Unit has been continuously funded by the Core Grant since 1981. Since 1992, Lynn Schuchter, MD, an expert in clinical trials involving experimental therapeutics and in multi-modality trials for melanoma, has served as Facility Director. Her scientific expertise, active involvement in national cooperative groups, and administrative skills has resulted in highly effective management and development of this core during the past seven years. 6522 adult patients were entered onto clinical treatment protocols this past year and 85 protocols were activated this past year. This represents a 28% increase in patient accrual and a three- fold increase in the number of studies activated in the past year.